"The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them."

- Albert Einstein

Action Alert:
DARK Act - HR 1599U.S. House of Representatives Seeks to Prohibit Labeling of GMOsMaine's landmark legislation, An Act To Protect Maine Food Consumers' Right To Know about Genetically Engineered Food, could be eliminated if HR 1599 were to pass.More information

To maximize our relevance and effectiveness in a time of changing food systems and changing attitudes, we invite you to participate in one or more meetings, held from August 3 to 6, at the Good Will-Hinckley School in Fairfield, Maine.

Know Your Organic Producers!Meet Gregory Bertoni and Kelsey Woods of A Good Start in Old Orchard Beach, a MOFGA-certified organic farm that produces seedlings. They sell at the Saco River Market. Keep up with A Good Start on Facebook.Please support MOFGA certified organic producers!

Gary Paul Nabhan is hot on the trail of climate changeBoston Globe - 6/30/2011.By Aaron Kagan – Patagonia, Arizona: A lesser known symbol of climate change is the chili pepper. In a new book “Chasing Chiles: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail,’’ Gary Paul Nabhan examines the relationship between food production and global warming through the chili pepper.

Congress should reward farmers who are good stewardsCommon Dreams - 6/30/2011.By Brenna Norton – In the 1980s and early 1990s, a variety of US Department of Agriculture-supported conservation practices, requirements, and incentives were effective in reversing high levels of soil erosion. In recent years, relatively high soy and corn prices have given farmers incentive to expand planting onto marginal lands. The promise of high profits, and a perverse federal commodity subsidy system that rewards intensive mono-cropping, is just too good to resist.

Time to end the chemical war against superweedsGreenpeace International - 6/30/2011.By Lasse Bruun – Weed killers are used on a massive scale under the unproven assumption that they are safe. Roundup, one of the most common herbicides, is marketed by US agrochemical company Monsanto as “safe” for the environment and for humans – but “deadly for weeds.” Our new report, Herbicide Tolerance and GM Crops paints a very different picture.

Canada seeks to breed stronger honeybeesTreehugger - 6/30/2011.By Sami Grover – Many folks believe that the answer to saving the bees lies in either breeding for better genetics and/or encouraging nature and evolution to do the same. One program in Canada is setting out to actively breed better, more resilient bees – and it is enlisting the help of its local beekeepers to do so.

Regional School Unit (RSU) 1 L.O.C.A.L. Garden in Bath. Offered by Sagadahoc Chapter of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners with the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT). Space is limited so RSVP by email to: joe.kim.sean@gmail.com. For more information, visit KELT at www.kennebecestuary.org or contact Sue West at swest@chewonki.org.